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Public Act 102-1140
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| HB5542 Enrolled | LRB102 25021 RAM 34278 b |
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AN ACT concerning veterans.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is |
amended by changing Section 37 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 2805/37) |
Sec. 37. Illinois Joining Forces Foundation. |
(a) The General Assembly finds that navigating the "sea of |
goodwill" for those who serve in uniform is one of the greatest |
challenges that transitioning veterans face; as a result, they |
risk being unable to access many of the federal, State, and |
non-profit resources available to them. Recognizing this |
problem, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the |
Department of Military Affairs acted to establish the Illinois |
Joining Forces initiative, a public-private network of |
military and veteran-serving organizations that are working |
together, in person and online, to create a no-wrong-door |
system of support for the State's military and veteran |
communities. Illinois Joining Forces is a nation-leading |
model, awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and |
the National Association of State Directors of Veterans |
Affairs for its groundbreaking work in creating smarter, |
collaborative community support for those in uniform, past and |
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present. The foundation created by this amendatory Act of the |
98th General Assembly will serve to ensure the long-term |
sustainability of Illinois Joining Forces, which is critically |
important for the support of the State's military and veteran |
communities. |
(b) The Illinois Joining Forces Foundation shall benefit |
service members, veterans, and their families by: |
(1) convening military and veteran support |
organizations, through Illinois Joining Forces working |
groups, to build cross-sector relationships and mutual |
awareness; |
(2) providing policy recommendations through Illinois |
Joining Forces member working groups to the Illinois |
Veterans' Advisory Council; |
(3) facilitating the transfer of information and |
knowledge among Illinois Joining Forces member |
organizations; |
(4) maintaining and continuing to build the |
no-wrong-door online navigation platform; |
(3) (5) educating Illinois Joining Forces members and |
other community providers regarding military and veteran |
culture and needs, thus improving the collective capacity |
of the support system; and |
(4) (6) outreaching directly to service members, |
veterans, and their families regarding the no-wrong-door |
system of support that Illinois Joining Forces provides to |
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them. |
(c) For the purpose of this Section,
"veterans service |
organization" means an organization that meets all of the |
following criteria: |
(1) The organization is formed by and for United |
States military
veterans. |
(2) The organization is chartered by the United States |
Congress and
incorporated in the State of Illinois. |
(3) The organization has maintained a State |
headquarters office in
Illinois for the 10-year period |
immediately preceding the effective date of this |
amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. |
(4) The organization maintains at least one office in |
this State,
staffed by a veterans service officer. |
(5) The organization is capable of preparing a power |
of attorney
for a veteran and processing claims for |
veterans services. |
(6) The organization is not funded by the State of |
Illinois or by
any county in this State. |
(d) The General Assembly authorizes the Department of |
Veterans' Affairs, in accordance with Section 10 of the State |
Agency Entity Creation Act, to create the Illinois Joining |
Forces Foundation as a not-for-profit foundation. The |
Department shall file articles of incorporation as required |
under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to |
create the Foundation. |
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The Foundation's Board of Directors shall be appointed as |
follows: one member appointed by the Governor; one member |
appointed by the President of the Senate; one member appointed |
by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one member appointed by |
the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and one member |
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of |
Representatives; and all of the members of the Illinois |
Joining Forces Executive Committee, who shall be appointed by |
the Director of Veterans' Affairs. |
The Foundation may also include up to 18 additional voting |
members of the Board of Directors: up to 9 members to be |
nominated and approved by the Board of Directors according to |
the Foundation's bylaws, and up to 9 members to be appointed by |
the Director of Veterans' Affairs or the Director of Military |
Affairs. The Board shall have an equal number of board or |
department appointed members. To ensure parity, no additional |
nominee may be considered by the Board of Directors unless a |
like appointment is made by the Department of Veterans' |
Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs, and vice versa. |
In addition to any veterans service organization |
otherwise represented on the Board of Directors, a veterans |
service organization may designate in writing an ex officio, |
non-voting participant to the Board of Directors. Any veterans |
service organization appointee under this provision Section |
does not count towards a quorum. |
The Director of Veterans' Affairs, or the Director's |
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designee, and a designee chosen by the Director of Military |
Affairs who is a senior management official of the Department |
of Military Affairs with the authority to make decisions on |
behalf of the agency shall serve as members of the |
Foundation's Board of Directors. Board of Director |
appointments shall be for 2-year terms. Vacancies shall be |
filled by the official who made the statutory appointment |
recommendation for the vacated appointment. No member of the |
Board of Directors may receive compensation for his or her |
services to the Foundation. Upon appointment, the Board of |
Directors, as members of a public entity, shall be represented |
and indemnified pursuant to the requirements of the State |
Employee Indemnification Act. |
(e) The purposes of the Foundation are to: promote, |
support, assist, and sustain Illinois Joining Forces |
operations; solicit and accept grants and private donations |
and disburse them for the stated intent of the Foundation or |
the private donor; solicit and generate public and private |
funding and donations that assist in enhancing the Illinois |
Joining Forces mission, services, programs, and operations; |
and engage generally in other lawful endeavors consistent with |
the foregoing purposes. The foundation shall operate within |
the provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act |
of 1986. |
(f) The As soon as practicable after the Foundation is |
created, the Board of Directors shall meet, organize, and |
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designate, by majority vote, a chairperson, a treasurer, a |
secretary, and any additional officers that may be needed to |
carry out the activities of the Foundation and shall adopt |
bylaws of the Foundation. In consultation with the |
Foundation's Board of Directors, the Department of Veterans' |
Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs may provide |
assistance in adopting other rules deemed necessary to govern |
Foundation procedures. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, in |
consultation with the Department of Military Affairs, may |
adopt other rules deemed necessary to govern Foundation |
procedures. |
(g) The Foundation may request and accept gifts, grants, |
donations, or bequests from the federal government or its |
agencies or officers or from any person, firm, or corporation, |
and may expend receipts on activities that it considers |
suitable to the performance of its duties under this Section |
and consistent with any requirement of the grant, gift, |
donation, or bequest. Funds collected by the Foundation shall |
be considered private funds and shall be held in an |
appropriate account outside of the State treasury. Private |
funds collected by the Foundation are not subject to the |
Public Funds Investment Act. The treasurer of the Foundation |
shall be the custodian of all Foundation funds. The treasurer |
shall be required to obtain a fidelity or surety bond on |
satisfactory terms and in sufficient amounts to protect the |
interests of the Foundation, the cost of which shall be |
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reimbursed by the Foundation. The Foundation and its officers |
shall be responsible for the approval of the recording of |
receipts, approval of payments, and the proper filing of |
required reports. The Foundation may be assisted in carrying |
out its functions by Department of Military Affairs and |
Department of Veterans' Affairs personnel as determined by the |
respective Directors. The Department of Military Affairs and |
the Department of Veterans' Affairs may shall provide |
reasonable assistance to the Foundation to achieve the |
purposes of the Foundation as determined by the respective |
Directors. The Foundation shall cooperate fully with the |
boards, commissions, agencies, departments, and institutions |
of the State. The funds held and made available by the Illinois |
Joining Forces Foundation shall be subject to financial and |
compliance audits in accordance with the Illinois State |
Auditing Act. The Foundation shall not have any power of |
eminent domain. The Foundation shall not construct or make any |
permanent improvements to any real property. |
(h) The Foundation must provide a written notice to any |
entity providing a gift, grant, donation, or bequest to the |
Foundation that the Foundation is not subject to the |
provisions of the Public Funds Investment Act, which Act |
places limitations on the types of securities in which a |
public agency may invest public funds.
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(i) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the |
Foundation is not eligible for any grant administered or |